Laundry treatment apparatuses, which can dry laundry, are classified into a laundry treatment apparatus equipped with an exhaust type drying system and a laundry treatment apparatus equipped with a circulation type drying system in accordance with how air supplied to laundry is treated after exchanging heat with the laundry.
In the case of the circulation type drying system, there may be a drawback in that cooling water should be supplied for dehumidification of air re-supplied to an outer tub after being discharged from the outer tub and, as such, a great amount of cooling water is consumed. On the other hand, in the case of the exhaust type drying system, there may be a drawback in that air having exchanged heat with laundry is exhausted to the outside even though the temperature of the air is higher than that of outside air and, as such, a great amount of energy is consumed to dry laundry.
In order to solve such problems, a laundry treatment apparatus equipped with a hybrid system has been proposed. In the hybrid system, air present in an outer tub is partially exhausted, and the remaining air is re-supplied to the outer tube through circulation.
The laundry treatment apparatus equipped with the hybrid system includes an exhaust duct for partially exhausting air discharged from the outer tub. When air is directly exhausted through the exhaust duct, there may be a problem in that a great amount of water vapor may be produced around the laundry treatment apparatus. On the other hand, when the exhaust duct is directly connected to a drain disposed near the laundry treatment apparatus, there may be a problem in that it is difficult to introduce wash water discharged from a drainage duct of the apparatus into the drain.
In order to solve such problems, a device for connecting the exhaust duct to the drainage duct in order to discharge, into the drain through the drainage duct, air and condensed water as well as wash water, has been proposed.
In this case, smooth exhaust of air may be impossible when a water trap is formed at a portion of the drainage duct downstream of a connection point between the drainage duct and the exhaust duct. Then, there may be a problem in that the humidity of air present in the outer tub is increased and, as such, drying of laundry may be inefficiently carried out.
In particular, in certain areas including North America, drains are typically positioned at certain heights over the floor. For this reason, a U-shaped water trap may be easily formed at the drainage duct. In order to apply the above-mentioned product to North America or the like, accordingly, the above-mentioned problem should be resolved.